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Results tagged ‘ Anthony Swarzak ’

MINNEAPOLIS — Right-hander Anthony Swarzak fractured two ribs on his left side in a non-baseball activity on Jan. 25 and is expected to be out for a month, the Twins announced today.

The club did not announce how Swarzak injured his ribs but he’s expected to resume baseball activities in late February.

It’s bad timing for Swarzak, as Twins pitchers and catchers are set to report to the club’s Spring Training complex in Fort Myers, Fla. on Tuesday with the first workout set for the next morning.

Swarzak, who posted a 5.03 ERA in 96 2/3 innings last season, is expected to be in the running as the club’s long reliever this season.

The 27-year-old fared better in a relief role last year, as he had a 4.05 ERA in 73 1/3 innings in that role compared to an 8.10 ERA in 23 1/3 innings in five spot starts.

UPDATE: I just got off the phone with Twins general manager Terry Ryan, who said Swarzak injured himself while in Minnesota for TwinsFest. He was playing around and wrestling when he hurt his ribs. The Twins are hopeful he’ll still be healthy in time for the season.

BALTIMORE — The Twins generally like to give everyone on their roster an opportunity to get playing time early in the season, and so there are two new faces in today’s lineup against the Orioles.

Sean Burroughs is getting the start at third base over Danny Valencia, while Luke Hughes, who is coming off a huge spring, gets the start at second instead of Alexi Casilla.

Joe Mauer is also getting his first start at first base, as Ryan Doumit is set to catch right-hander Anthony Swarzak. Swarzak, who posted a 4.32 ERA in 102 innings last year, is starting with Liam Hendriks out with food poisoning.

We’ll find out more about the decision to start Burroughs and Hughes from Ron Gardenhire later this morning.

Update: Gardenhire said the moves were done simply to get Burroughs and Hughes some playing time. He did say Valencia is continuing to work on his defense, but that wasn’t the reason why Burroughs made the start at third. Hughes also could get starts against lefties moving forward. Trevor Plouffe should be in the starting lineup tomorrow with Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson on the mound.

BALTIMORE — Twins rookie right-hander Liam Hendriks is in the hospital because of food poisoning, and will miss his scheduled start against the Orioles on Sunday.

Right-hander Anthony Swarzak, who was stretched out to six innings during Spring Training, will start in place of Hendriks.

Hendriks took part in Friday’s Opening Day ceremonies but felt sick later that night, and was admitted to the hospital this morning and will be kept there until Sunday morning.

“It is amazing,” Twins general manager Terry Ryan said with a hint of disbelief. “Everything was fine until he got back home. I guess last night he went in. I don’t know what he had but he’s still in the hospital. He’ll get out tomorrow morning. It’s too bad because the kid did a wonderful job for us this spring. But it shouldn’t take too long to get him back out there.”

Hendriks, 23, posted a 1.80 ERA during Spring Training, and was slated to start with right-handers Scott Baker (elbow) and Jason Marquis (family matter) unavailable to open the season.

But instead the Twins will turn to Swarzak, who also fared well in spring with a 2.93 ERA and was stretched out to be a long reliever or spot starter.

“I was preparing to be a starter for weeks in Spring Training, and was put in a situation where if they need a spot start, I’d be ready to go,” Swarzak said. “It’s unfortunate for Liam to be in the situation he’s in. I hope he gets better as soon as possible because he’s a pretty good pitcher and in the big picture we need as many good pitchers on the staff as we can get.”

SARASOTA, Fla. — Five Twins pitchers, including starter Anthony Swarzak, combined to one-hit the Orioles in a 5-0 win on Tuesday at Ed Smith Stadium.

The Twins return home on Wednesday to host the Phillies at Hammond Stadium with left-hander Francisco Liriano set to take the mound.

What went right: The Twins shut down the Orioles, allowing just one hit and three walks on the afternoon.

Swarzak tossed 3 2/3 hitless innings, but did issue all three free passes. But Swarzak was rewarded after the game, as Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Swarzak will be on the Opening Day roster.

Right-hander Jeff Gray also retired all seven batters he faced to lower his ERA to 2.16 this spring. He still likely remains on the outside looking in, but is on the 40-man roster and out of Minor League options.

Jared Burton continued his solid spring with a perfect seventh inning to lower his ERA to 1.13. And closer Matt Capps retired all three batters he faced in the ninth.

Justin Morneau also picked up another hit with an RBI single in the fifth inning. He drilled a two-strike curveball from right-hander Chris Tillman into right field.

Jamey Carroll went 1-for-3 with a two-run double in the second while Luke Hughes added an RBI double in the first.

The Twins also made a few nice defensive plays, including a diving snare from shortstop Brian Dozier and a diving play from second baseman Alexi Casilla in the sixth.

What went wrong: Not much, but left-hander Glen Perkins gave up the lone hit on a double to Robert Andino with two outs in the eighth inning.

But even on that play, the Twins executed a great relay, as Ben Revere got the ball to Alexi Casilla who threw Andino out at third.

What they said: “A good day,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “I like to see that, get the outs we’re supposed to get, and pitchers throwing it over for the most part.”

What’s next: Left -hander Francisco Liriano is scheduled to make his sixth Grapefruit League start of the spring on Wednesday against the Phillies at Hammond Stadium. Liriano has been excellent so far this spring, posting a 2.00 ERA with 23 strikeouts and three walks in 18 innings. Right-hander Vance Worley is slated to start for Philadelpha.

Injury update: Outfielder Trevor Plouffe (strained right hamstring) is scheduled to play in a Minor League game on Wednesday after going through a workout without any issues on Tuesday. … Infielder Sean Burroughs had an X-ray taken on his left forearm a day after it was hit by a pitch. The results should come in on Wednesday … Outfielder Josh Willingham is fine after tweaking his ankle before Monday’s game against the Rays.

None of those moves came as a complete surprise, although Manship was in the running for a spot in the bullpen and Florimon had a chance to stick as a utility infielder after Tsuyoshi Nishioka was optioned to Triple-A.

But Manship struggled in a recent outing against the Yankees and ended up with a 5.19 ERA, while Florimon hit just .148 with one extra-base hit.

Right-hander Anthony Swarzak makes his first start of the spring against the Orioles today. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are both in the lineup again today, as Mauer is starting at first base and Morneau is serving as designated hitter.

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